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Tuesday, June 07, 2011

Weiner Confesses, Apologizes and Doesn't Resign

Monday afternoon in a hotel in Manhattan, Congressman Anthony Weiner confessed that yes, indeed, it was he who tweeted that college student in Washington state a photo of his gray underwear and everything in it. He proclaimed great regret and sorrow for disgracing himself before the nation. He stated he loved his wife and they were not going to split up over this.

Mercifully, Weiner's new wife was not present. Is there anything worse that a woman standing beside her sleazy politician husband as he airs their personal life to everyone who will listen? What kind of medication does one take to be able to stand there with a non-expressive face and suffer that embarrassment?

Here's the thing - Weiner not only confessed to this tawdry escapade, he confessed to having a total of six women he virtually sexualized. He said some were up to three years ago but some more recently. It should be noted that Weiner and the wife have only been married since this past Spring.

And then the saddest tidbit of it all - Weiner said he told his wife of his fondness of virtual sex but that they talked it out and proceeded with the marriage. So, to repay her trust in him that he would improve his behavior, he continued his photographic hobby. What a guy.

The press conference had a little of everything in it. First, there was the guest appearance of Andrew Breitbart, the fearless fledgling conservative media mogul who put the initial story out there last week and Weiner decided to try and ruin over it. Breitbart was in town for a book tour, he said, and showed up at the press conference to hear the story. He also spoke about the latest woman to come forward with sorted photos and story about herself and Weiner. This woman, verified through an interview earlier in the afternoon by ABC News, must have been the final straw for Camp Weiner. I would imagine as she came forward Weiner's legal adviser must have said, "Dude. Just get out there and get it over with already." Somewhere a fat lady was singing.

See, when it was a story told by conservative social media, then it was a lie, or at best, questionable. But once a dinosaur alphabet network verified the story, then it was legit.

Weiner came out after waiting for Breitbart to finish - delicious enough - and launched into his story. He wiped away a few tears and took out a hankie for good measure. He said he took full responsibility numerous times. And, after being coaxed several times by reporters, he even apologized to Andrew Breitbart. By name.

Weiner claims he did nothing illegal. He doesn't appear to be too concerned about the breach of ethics that involves lying and misuse of federal property. A different woman has come forward and claims Weiner had phone sex with her as he used a telephone in his Congressional office. That would be federal property. He said it was his personal cell phone that was used in the Twitter photos. That will remain to be seen.

Minority Leader Pelosi has called for a House Ethics Committee investigation into the whole thing.

Weiner claims he didn't violate his oath of office - to uphold the Constitution - and is not resigning. That's because he is a Democrat. Just last year, a Republican congressman, also from New York, resigned immediately after cell phone photos of himself shirtless surfaced. To here the House Democrats at that time, you would have thought the Congressman was the biggest pervert that ever walked the earth.

That was then. This is now. That was a Republican. This is a Democrat.

The icky factor magnifies as we get an unobstructed view of how Democrats treat women. Weiner said he wasn't sure how old these women are, during questioning. That would be a problem if they were underage, now wouldn't it, in the real world? He said his wife knew of his sleazy behavior before the marriage but she married him anyway. Then he orginally denied knowing the Washington college student at all and that someone hacked his Twitter account - maybe implying she had something to do with it. And the so-called feminists on the left side of the political aisle? They were so very quick to jump to Weiner's defense from the very beginning. It's sick.

Instead of resigning and letting the story die quickly, Weiner is hanging on. The Democrats will have to deal with the ethics investigation and that narrative instead of the policy messages they are desperately trying to have heard. Weiner is an arrogant and ego-driven man. It has brought him down and time will not be his friend.